I'm a US Citizen who will be staying in France more than 90 days because i will be taking a French course at the Sorbonne which lasts about 3 and a half months. I went to the office at the Sorbonne to ask questions and she said that if you are a US citizen you can overstay for a few days no problem. But she also said if I wanted peace of mind I should go to the French embassy and ask. Should I do this or just risk going over 90 days. What if I want to stay past Christmas in France and leave late December when the course starts in the first week of September. Would that be too long; am I risking it? Or should I just be safe and go to the embassy as I already mentioned?
Go to the embassy and get direct answer(s). You're better off getting things straight on the front-end, rather than worrying later and possibly coming unstuck.
I think it's too risky. There are plenty of stories about people who have overstayed in the Schengen zone and found themselves barred from reentering the zone. Find out what you need to do to stay legally.
Normally for over 90 days you will need to get a student visa. Check with the French consulate serving your area of the US. I believe they now go through an organization called Campus France; here's a link http://www.usa.campusfrance.org/en/p...0%93-step-step
I would not rely on immigration advice from someone at the Sorbonne who says it's ok for a few days (whatever that means), nor on FT. Find out the real requirements and adjust your plans to meet them.
For example, the predominant law used to be the French requirement that you do not stay in France more than 89 consecutive days. That was easily circumvented since you could leave France and come right back and start a new 89 day run. Go to lunch in Brussels and you're all set.
Now the Schengen rules apply and you can not stay more than 90 days out of any 180 day period. This means there is a 180 day window that changes from one day to the next to test your compliance. Another huge difference with the Schengen rules is that they count your days in any of the countries which are part of the Schengen treaty. So a day in Italy counts the same as a day in France or a day in Belgium, and you add them up to measure your compliance. The good news here is that the UK is not a party to the Schengen treaty so days there do not count. Maybe you can work in some days in England in the middle of your stay to knock your Schengen days under the limit. By the way, a day you leave France or arrive in France both count as Schengen days-it's not just where you sleep or where you are at midnight.
Another consideration is that if thru some method you are in France for 183 days in a calendar year, you become a French tax resident. In my view, brain surgery would be an attractive alternative.
Remember my advice at the top and don't take advcie just from FT, which is to say that my post should not be treated as final advice but rather to alert you that this is a serious matter and that you should look elsewhere for true expertice.
Last edited by Mountain Trader; Jul 13, 12 at 6:40 am..
If the course lasts three-and-a-half months then even a few week-end trips to the UK won't keep the OP within the 90 days. And while one occasionally hears about people who overstayed without getting caught there are plenty of stories (including some posted here) of people who did get caught and who had to deal with the consequences.
I think this is a no-brainer. Don't break the law. Don't risk getting caught breaking the law. Just go and get a visa.
I thought that I'd overstayed a few years ago, was about 98 days (I'm an Australian citizen, same rules as OP) - then I realised that the two weeks that I spent in the UK brought me under the 90. But as Aviatrix pointed out, that won't be enough for the OP.
There are a few possible scenarios when you depart if you've overstayed:
1. They either don't notice or can't be bothered doing anything about it
2. They notice, question you and let you on your way
3. They notice, detain and question you until your flight has departed
4. As in point 2 or 3, and preclude you from entering Schengen again for X number of years.
I've heard of all these scenarios and I wouldn't want to risk the consequences. Get a visa - someone from the Sorbonne would be low on my list of people that I would be seeking immigration advice from.
Well, just an update. I am going to take the Sorbonne French language course starting in a week. They won't get the visa for me and say it's safe for a US citizen like me to overstay say 5 days over for a total of 95 days or something for example. They all seem to be in agreement on this as several people there told me so and even told me that if I wanted peace of mind I should take a trip to the UK for 1 day before the 90 days is up and go back and get a new stamp for a new 90 days. So I guess it's a safe bet to do this and that's what I plan on doing.
Well, just an update. I am going to take the Sorbonne French language course starting in a week. They won't get the visa for me and say it's safe for a US citizen like me to overstay say 5 days over for a total of 95 days or something for example. They all seem to be in agreement on this as several people there told me so and even told me that if I wanted peace of mind I should take a trip to the UK for 1 day before the 90 days is up and go back and get a new stamp for a new 90 days. So I guess it's a safe bet to do this and that's what I plan on doing.
You asked about overstaying and were given several valid answers not to do it and not trusting someone from the Sorbonne to give visa advice, yet you choose not to take their advice. Why did you bother asking MountainTrader explained that leaving for one day will not work since Shengen looks at a 180 day period, so you'll have to leave for 5 days if you want to stay within the rules...
You asked about overstaying and were given several valid answers not to do it and not trusting someone from the Sorbonne to give visa advice, yet you choose not to take their advice. Why did you bother asking MountainTrader explained that leaving for one day will not work since Shengen looks at a 180 day period, so you'll have to leave for 5 days if you want to stay within the rules...
Got to admit that I just rolled my eyes when I saw the OP's update. I'm sorry that I wasted two minutes of my life posting advice in the thread.
Well, just an update. I am going to take the Sorbonne French language course starting in a week. They won't get the visa for me and say it's safe for a US citizen like me to overstay say 5 days over for a total of 95 days or something for example. They all seem to be in agreement on this as several people there told me so and even told me that if I wanted peace of mind I should take a trip to the UK for 1 day before the 90 days is up and go back and get a new stamp for a new 90 days. So I guess it's a safe bet to do this and that's what I plan on doing.
It's not a safe bet at all. In fact a one day trip to the UK will do nothing to help you under the Schenegen rules, which it seems neither you nor the people you're speaking to at the Sorbonne know anything about.
Well, just an update. I am going to take the Sorbonne French language course starting in a week. They won't get the visa for me and say it's safe for a US citizen like me to overstay say 5 days over for a total of 95 days or something for example. They all seem to be in agreement on this as several people there told me so and even told me that if I wanted peace of mind I should take a trip to the UK for 1 day before the 90 days is up and go back and get a new stamp for a new 90 days. So I guess it's a safe bet to do this and that's what I plan on doing.
It's not their job to get the visa for you, it's yours.
You may or may not get away with overstaying. If you don't, you can't say you weren't warned.
Well from more info I've gathered it seems as if the Germans are really strict in overstaying and will really lay the hammer down but the Spanish are not and I'm really considering flying out of Spain back to the US as they seem to be lax in implementing the 90 day rule.
MountainTrader explained that leaving for one day will not work since Shengen looks at a 180 day period, so you'll have to leave for 5 days if you want to stay within the rules...
